Examining the Gendered Impacts of Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence: A Mixed Methods Approach

This study employed a mixed methods approach, integrating quantitative online survey data (N = 333; Mage = 33.91; 63% women) with qualitative interview data (N = 10; Agerange = 24-46; 50% women) to gain a more comprehensive understanding of TFSV. We found that victims of TFSV experienced anxiety, stress, depression, loss of control, mistrust, multiple victimizations, poor academic/occupation functioning, problematic alcohol consumption, embarrassment, and online behaviour changes (e.g., limiting personal information online) due to TFSV victimization. Individuals who experienced online image-based abuse reported greater distress on items of depression, anxiety, and occupational/academic functioning than did victims of other types of TFSV. The current study provides partial support for the gender similarities hypothesis that TFSV is not exclusively a gender-based harm; our findings suggest that women and men’s TFSV experiences are similar for most TFSV types. Overall, the present study demonstrates the negative impact TFSV has for both women and men and highlights the need for greater awareness and increased support for all victims of this form of sexual violence.

Rumination is a Correlate But Not a Cause of Depressive Symptoms During Adolescence

<p>Data reported in this thesis were used to test the applicability of Response Styles Theory (RST; Nolen-Hoeksema, 1987; 1991) to preadolescent and adolescent populations across three studies. First, this thesis tested whether rumination maintained and exacerbated distress, and second, whether female adolescents ruminated more than male adolescents. In addition, this thesis compared rumination's ability to predict depression and anxiety with other predictors of maladjustment, such as stress, sense of control, and perceptions of false self. Study 1 had two major objectives, first to measure the concurrent relationships among stress, rumination, sense of control and depressive symptoms among 310 preadolescents (9-13 years). Results indicated that 13 year old females were slightly more ruminative and depressed than 13 year old males. Second, rumination mediated rather than moderated the relationship between stress and depressive symptoms. The second objective of Study 1 was to assess peer and parental influences in developing a ruminative response style. It was tested whether preadolescents expect females to ruminate more than males. In addition, parents (N = 218) of these preadolescents reported whether they would encourage female children to ruminate more than male children. Data showed that preadolescents did not expect female preadolescents to ruminate more than male preadolescents, and similarly, parents did not encourage female children to ruminate more than male children. Study 2 also had two objectives: first, to develop and validate a new scale entitled the Perceptions of False Self scale (POFS), enabling an additional predictor of maladjustment to be compared with rumination. This scale was constructed because existing scales (SWIT; Harter & Waters, 1991) are difficult for adolescents to understand and complete. The POFS scale was developed using a multi-method approach, involving 331 adolescents (11-16 years). The POFS scale proved to be reliable and valid, and exhibited a stronger relationship with maladjustment (depression and anxiety) than existing measures. Study 2 also reported the relationships among stress, rumination, sense of control, perceptions of false self, and maladjustment among 195 adolescents across 10 weeks. Rumination predicted increases in later maladjustment when measured in isolation. However when stress, sense of control, and false self were included as predictors, rumination no longer predicted changes in maladjustment. Interestingly, the direction of effect among the measured variables seemed to flow from maladjustment to risk and vulnerability. In Study 3, depressive and anxious symptoms were measured separately to test whether stress, rumination, sense of control, and perceptions of false self exhibited distinct relationships with anxious and depressive symptoms. Data were collected from 926 adolescents (11-17 years) across 4 months. Females were slightly more ruminative than males from age 12, however, females did not report higher maladjustment until age 14. Furthermore, rumination and depression exhibited a bidirectional relationship across 4 months when measured in isolation, however when additional variables were assessed this relationship disappeared. In fact, anxiety, not rumination, predicted increases in maladjustment. In combination, these studies show that although females report more maladjustment than males, this difference is small, supporting a gender similarities rather than a gender differences perspective. Second, rumination does not predict increases in either depressive or anxious symptoms during adolescence. Therefore, these findings challenge the applicability of RST to adolescent samples. It is concluded that rumination is a correlate, not a cause of depressive and anxious symptoms during adolescence.</p>

Rumination is a Correlate But Not a Cause of Depressive Symptoms During Adolescence

<p>Data reported in this thesis were used to test the applicability of Response Styles Theory (RST; Nolen-Hoeksema, 1987; 1991) to preadolescent and adolescent populations across three studies. First, this thesis tested whether rumination maintained and exacerbated distress, and second, whether female adolescents ruminated more than male adolescents. In addition, this thesis compared rumination's ability to predict depression and anxiety with other predictors of maladjustment, such as stress, sense of control, and perceptions of false self. Study 1 had two major objectives, first to measure the concurrent relationships among stress, rumination, sense of control and depressive symptoms among 310 preadolescents (9-13 years). Results indicated that 13 year old females were slightly more ruminative and depressed than 13 year old males. Second, rumination mediated rather than moderated the relationship between stress and depressive symptoms. The second objective of Study 1 was to assess peer and parental influences in developing a ruminative response style. It was tested whether preadolescents expect females to ruminate more than males. In addition, parents (N = 218) of these preadolescents reported whether they would encourage female children to ruminate more than male children. Data showed that preadolescents did not expect female preadolescents to ruminate more than male preadolescents, and similarly, parents did not encourage female children to ruminate more than male children. Study 2 also had two objectives: first, to develop and validate a new scale entitled the Perceptions of False Self scale (POFS), enabling an additional predictor of maladjustment to be compared with rumination. This scale was constructed because existing scales (SWIT; Harter & Waters, 1991) are difficult for adolescents to understand and complete. The POFS scale was developed using a multi-method approach, involving 331 adolescents (11-16 years). The POFS scale proved to be reliable and valid, and exhibited a stronger relationship with maladjustment (depression and anxiety) than existing measures. Study 2 also reported the relationships among stress, rumination, sense of control, perceptions of false self, and maladjustment among 195 adolescents across 10 weeks. Rumination predicted increases in later maladjustment when measured in isolation. However when stress, sense of control, and false self were included as predictors, rumination no longer predicted changes in maladjustment. Interestingly, the direction of effect among the measured variables seemed to flow from maladjustment to risk and vulnerability. In Study 3, depressive and anxious symptoms were measured separately to test whether stress, rumination, sense of control, and perceptions of false self exhibited distinct relationships with anxious and depressive symptoms. Data were collected from 926 adolescents (11-17 years) across 4 months. Females were slightly more ruminative than males from age 12, however, females did not report higher maladjustment until age 14. Furthermore, rumination and depression exhibited a bidirectional relationship across 4 months when measured in isolation, however when additional variables were assessed this relationship disappeared. In fact, anxiety, not rumination, predicted increases in maladjustment. In combination, these studies show that although females report more maladjustment than males, this difference is small, supporting a gender similarities rather than a gender differences perspective. Second, rumination does not predict increases in either depressive or anxious symptoms during adolescence. Therefore, these findings challenge the applicability of RST to adolescent samples. It is concluded that rumination is a correlate, not a cause of depressive and anxious symptoms during adolescence.</p>

Life-course Variations in Spouses’ Division of Roles in Urban Areas of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Despite a growing acceptance of egalitarian gender attitudes, there is no empirical evidence about the division of roles between wives and husbands and its variation across their family life in the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI). This paper uses data from the 2014 to 2015 Time Use Survey, representing urban areas of the IRI, to examine the dynamics of the spouses’ division of roles across their family life. The findings confirm a gender division of roles. The mapping of the spouses’ role behaviours during their family life provides a combination of gender similarities and differences. Role configurations (or role variations across family life) clearly differ between spouses but the pathways (or life-course variations in role behaviours) are quite similar in some roles (i.e., community, individual and parental roles) and different in others (i.e., occupational and domestic roles). To the extent that the existing gender patterns are perceived as unjustified, they can be consequential not only for marital satisfaction and quality, but also for marriage and childbearing decisions.

The Gender Similarities Hypothesis: Insights From A Multilevel Analysis of High-Stakes Examination Results in Mathematics

The current study involved multilevel analysis of high-stakes examination results (i.e., GCSE) in Northern Ireland to investigate gender differentials in mathematical achievement, whereas most previous research in the area used results from low-stakes tests (i.e., PISA, TIMSS). The analysis supported the gender similarities hypothesis with respect to both overall and content domain-specific mathematical attainment. Similar conclusions were drawn from the current study as have been reported in studies into gender differentials using data from low-stakes assessments in the respective jurisdiction. This suggests that previously expressed concerns in the literature about the viability of using data derived from low-stakes assessments to accurately assess gender differentials in achievement may be unfounded. Furthermore, the context for the current study permitted an investigation into the effects of school type (grammar versus non-grammar) and gender on overall and domain-specific mathematical achievement, an area that has received scant attention in the literature. School type was not found to have an effect on the applicability of the gender similarities hypothesis with respect to mathematical achievement. The study findings are likely to prove useful to researchers and policymakers who are interested in gender equity issues in mathematics.

Conceptualization of the ‘School’ in the English Available Lexicon of Spanish Adolescents

This study explores the conceptualization of ‘School’ in the English lexicon of EFL learners, and compares this lexicon to the meanings attributed to the entry School in English dictionaries. Our first objective aimed at identifying the most frequent content words retrieved by Spanish EFL learners in response to the cue-word SCHOOL in a lexical availability/association task, and comparing them with the meanings attributed by dictionaries. Our second objective aimed at ascertaining whether there were gender similarities or differences in the lexical production and the actual words retrieved by males and females. The quantitative analyses applied to the data revealed a common structure in male and female EFL learners’ available lexicon as well as a high correspondence to the meanings attributed to School in dictionaries. However, the qualitative analysis also uncovered typical patterns related to adolescent school life not present in dictionaries as well as vocabulary not shared by males and females but exclusively generated either by males or by females.

Race, Gender, and Political Representation

Who gets elected? Who do they represent? What issues do they prioritize? Does diversity in representation make a difference? Race, Gender, and Political Representation approaches these questions about the politics of identity in the United States differently. It is not about women’s representation or minority representation; it is about how race and gender interact to affect the election, behavior, and impact of all individuals—raced women and gendered minorities alike. By putting women of color at the center of the analysis and re-evaluating traditional, one-at-a-time approaches to studying the politics of race or gender, the authors demonstrate what an intersectional approach to political representation can reveal. With a wealth of original data on the presence, policy leadership, and policy impact of Black women and men, Latinas and Latinos, and White women and men in state legislative office in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, each chapter shows how the politics of race, gender, and representation are far more complex than recurring “Year of the Woman” frameworks suggest. An array of race-gender similarities and differences is evident in the experiences, activities, and accomplishments of these state legislators. Yet one thing is clear: the representation of those marginalized by multiple, intersecting systems of power and inequality is intricately bound to the representation of women of color.

Gender and Family Ties in Latin American Legislatures

Are women disproportionately more likely than men to have family ties in politics? We study this question in Latin America, where legacies have been historically common, and we focus specifically on legislatures, where women's representation has increased dramatically in many countries. We hypothesize that, counter to conventional wisdom, women should be no more likely than men to have ties to political families. However, this may vary across legislatures with and without gender quotas. Our empirical analysis uses data from the Parliamentary Elites of Latin America survey. We find more gender similarities than differences in legislators’ patterns of family ties both today and over the past 20 years. We also find that women are more likely to have family ties than men in legislatures without gender quotas, whereas this difference disappears in legislatures with quotas.